{
  "id": 8433520,
  "title": "A New Jersey high schooler banked $135,000 in a single year flipping abandoned storage lockers",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/a-new-jersey-high-schooler-banked-135-000-in-a-single-year-flipping",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-18T09:15:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Finance",
    "slug": "yahoo-finance",
    "url": "https://finance.yahoo.com/small-business/articles/jersey-high-schooler-banked-135-091500036.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Michael Haskell, an 18-year-old high school student from Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, earned $135,000 in a single year by flipping abandoned storage lockers in the New York tri-state area. His journey began with a $10 unit that contained a carbon dioxide canister, which he sold for $40, generating a $30 profit. This initial success fueled his ambition and led him to pursue the business full-time. Within two years, Haskell had amassed over $220,000 from flipping storage units. His method involves bidding on abandoned units, often for $500 or less, through auction websites, then sorting and reselling the contents on eBay. One of his breakthroughs came when he purchased a unit associated with Andrew Crispo, a former Manhattan art dealer, which yielded a painting by Man Ray and sketches by Walt Kuhn, selling for $36,000. Haskell's strategy is based on identifying clues within the units to estimate their value. He uses tools like Google Lens, ChatGPT, and AI to cross-reference listings and identify notable names. Despite the time-consuming nature of the business, taking up to 20-25 hours of his week, Haskell remains committed. The venture has also provided him with a unique story for his college application, including the return of a Purple Heart he discovered in a unit, which may have contributed to his acceptance at Emory University. Looking ahead, Haskell is considering expanding into building storage facilities or flipping houses, capitalizing on his success in the storage unit flipping business.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}